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Travel

Drones & Ireland – Are There Any Laws in Place?

February 25, 2019 - By Bobby Riley

After previous reports from UK media outlets, drones have been spotted at Gatwick and Heathrow airports. These drones have caused many flight disruptions including a number of serious delays. In the weeks coming up to Christmas, there was a drone spotted at Gatwick which caused disruptions for up to 140,000 passengers.

This has caused great arguments as to who actually owns the airspace in question. With regard to Ireland, there does not seem to be any specific legislation.

This week, a report by aviation24 had said that Dubai International Airport, which is the third busiest airport in the world, has had its services hindered by unauthorised drone activity. Fortunately, for the sake of Dubai, everything was only stopped for 30 minutes or so. However, there is no doubt that this is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for airports across the globe.

In reaction to this issue, as of the 13 March 2019, drones will not be allowed within 5km of an airfield perimeter as ordered by the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK. Will Ireland soon follow suit?